After graduating, I had the obvious struggle of finding a job and the whole adulting process. Luckily, when I was on Facebook one day, I saw that Huriyali was hiring. I had only been to Huriyali twice at this point, but I immediately fell in love with the place and the concept of their restaurant. Huriyali specializes in multiple varieties of fresh Acai bowls, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and healthy meals. They are removing the stigma of healthy food by making it more approachable while preserving the nutrients and natural flavors.
first of all, What is acai and How the heck do you pronounce it?
Acai is pronounced ah-sigh-ee. Just remember “ah” the feeling when you finally figure out how to pronounce it. You can remember sigh because that’s what the employees of any acai bowl establishment do when you mispronounce it. Remember “ee” because that’s the noise of the joy you will feel when you finally get it right.
A lot of people know that acai is a super food, but what exactly does that mean? According to my boss, acai is high in healthy fats, antioxidants, and has a low sugar content. That means that after you eat one of Huriyali’s Acai Bowls, you will leave feeling full, satisfied, and happy that you ate something so healthy.
Opening the shop
Before Huriyali opens, a lot goes into getting the ingredients ready for the day. We start the day by prepping all of the local fruits and vegetables. This involves a lot of slicing, dicing, and patience. It can be tedious work, but everything has to be chopped in a certain way so that it is aesthetically pleasing, especially when it comes to the Acai Bowls.
After all of the fruits and veggies are prepped, we prep other products that we ran out of the day before. We make pretty much everything within reason in house. When I say everything within reason, I mean that if you don’t pick it out of the ground, we make it. The peanut butter in your Acai Bowl or AB&J sandwich is made in house. The pineapple salsa featured in the All Day Burrito (pictured above) and the EAT sandwich is made in house. But wait, there’s no way you make that delicious chocolate sauce on top of the Chocolate Acai bowl in house… Um yeah, we do.
Making the Acai Bowls
What I like most about working at Huriyali is that it is all about the quality of the product. Their products are not just something you can throw together, you have to take your time and make sure that each bowl is aesthetically pleasing. If you don’t believe me, check out how many food pics people post at Huriyali. Huriyali offers multiple variations on the classic Acai bowl, but I am going to stick with explaining the process of the OG Acai.
The base
The toppings of the bowl are what you see in the food pictures, but you never see what goes into the actual base. The OG Acai base is made of frozen acai, bananas, berries, peanut butter, and coconut water. It may sound simple, but blending these puppies is no joke. I feel like I don’t have to hit the gym anymore because I get a workout from making sure everything is blended nice and smooth.
The toppings
The base of the acai bowl is a superfood in itself, but the toppings really take the health benefits to the next level. Each bowl is topped with fresh fruit, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, cacao nibs, coconut, and granola if you shell out another dollar (which I highly recommend you do). We place each topping on the bowl carefully so that all of my fellow foodies can take awesome pictures.
The beauty of an acai bowl is that you don’t feel like you’re eating healthy. When I think of stereotypical healthy food, it usually doesn’t have a whole lot of flavor and can leave you hungry. Huriyali’s acai bowls are packed with flavors and textures that can replace a meal no problem.
fresh, local, and sustainable all in one
When you look at Huriyali, you see the Acai bowls, smoothies, and sandwiches and appreciate that they are a restaurant that is concerned with people’s health. A lot of people don’t know that Huriyali is also concerned with the health of the planet. All of our containers, cups, spoons, and forks are completely compostable. If a packaging is not compostable, then we recycle it. In addition, all of the produce at Huryali is certified organic. Huriyali also sources its ingredients from local vendors, which largely reduces their carbon footprint while supporting the local economy.
The perfect restaurant for foodies
I am so happy that I chose to work at Huriyali among all of the restaurants I could’ve worked at in Charleston. As a foodie, I of course value food being aesthetically pleasing so that I can share a photo of my experience with others, but above all I value the quality of the ingredients that go into the final product. If the food looks good, but doesn’t deliver on taste, then that is disappointing. Huriyali ensures that every product they put out is both easy on the eyes and easy to eat.
The second thing I value when trying a new restaurant is that there is something unique about it. There are a lot of acai bowl places popping up nowadays, but none of them are quite like Huriyali. I know for a fact that the owners, Tom and Ruchi, love what they do and they take great care in making sure every customer has a wonderful experience.
I am always learning from you, Elise! Many thanks for GREAT information. When we get to Charleston next January we will seek you out at Huriylali gardens – we are not RVing next winter – have a lease on a condo at St. Pete Beach – so just driving a car w/o the RV will make our stop way easier.